‘Queen of Richmond' Michelle Tran took pride in drug syndicate role, court hears
A Melbourne-based nail technician who used flight attendants as drug mules to smuggle $8 mil worth of heroin into Australia could be swapping the high-life in Richmond for a life sentence in jail.
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A nail technician and self-proclaimed “Queen of Richmond” took pride in her multimillion-dollar international drug syndicate which used flight attendants as drug mules to smuggle high grade heroin into Melbourne, a court has heard.
Michelle Tran, 43, faces life in prison after admitting her role as the Melbourne-based head of a major drug enterprise in which she enlisted an army of “soldiers” – including airline cabin crew – to carry the illicit drugs to Australia on eight occasions between October and December 2018.
Donning a leopard print scarf and royal blue jumper, the “Queen” listened via video link as the County Court was told of her sophisticated operation.
The court heard Tran was the highest-rung on the domestic side of the drug syndicate and had significant clout with the Malaysian drug supplier known only as “Mr Hanoi”.
Tran boasted she had been in the drug trade for more than 30 years, beginning when she was a teenager, and her name was so famous in the Richmond community, she would have her soldiers hold her phone for her whenever she used it.
A joint operation involving Australian Border Force and Federal Police intercepted five of the eight importations during their investigation, totalling 6.6kg of heroin with a street value between $4-8 million.
Prosecutor Jonathan Manning said on Thursday Tran had intimate knowledge and control over the planned importations before the drugs ever hit Australian shores, including halting a planned drug flight when she suspected authorities were on to the organisation.
“She had the ability, power and standing within the international syndicate to cancel that planned importation,” Mr Manning said.
“Her intimate knowledge of the workings of the syndicate is perhaps a reflection of the significant trust imposed in her by those overseas,
“Rather than be deterred, there is a level of pride in the success of her operation,” Mr Manning told the court.
Judge Michael Cahill agreed Tran’s moral culpability is “very high”.
The court heard each ticket of heroin weighed about 1kg and was split into three packets hidden in the flight attendant’s underwear and bra.
Tran would sell the tickets for close to $200,000 to her Australian customers and pocket about $20,000 commission for herself after paying her couriers and “porters”.
Defence lawyer, Charles Nikakis, said Tran’s offending was driven by a need to repay substantial gambling debts she owed to a series of “loan sharks”.
Mr Nikakis said Tran had tried to distance herself from the drug operation by handing over the contact details of Mr Hanoi to an associate – but still insisted on a keeping a commission for each import.
“She handed over the business but was being paid a consultancy fee, is that correct?” Judge Cahill said.
“That’s one way of putting it yes,” Mr Nikakis said.
Malindo Air flight attendant Zailee Zainal was earlier this week jailed for at least four years and nine months.
Tran will be sentenced on November 19.